The Philippine government is presidential, representative and democratic republic. First and foremost, it is a democratic and republican State, as articulated in Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution; “… sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. As a democratic state, it is founded on the principles of electing officials that would represent a specific body or group of people. As a republic, the elected officials hold power and the government leaders exercise their power according to the rule of law. As a presidential government, based on the principle of separation of powers, there exist three main departments of the government wherein power is divided equally among them: legislative, …show more content…
The legislative department, the Philippine Congress, is composed of two Houses: the Upper House or the Senate and the Lower House or the House of Representatives. This department has the power to make laws, alter, and repeal them through the power vested in the Philippine Congress. The executive department exercises authority and is responsible for the governance of the state; this department executes and enforces the law. In Article VII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, executive power is vested upon the President. He has the power to approve or deny (veto power) laws passed by Congress, appoint and/or remove executive members and officials, negotiate treaties, and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This department also includes the Vice President and other officials such as the cabinet members. A large fraction of the country’s bureaucracy is formed by these departments. As established on Article VII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, the judicial power rests upon the Supreme Court and the lower courts. The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the laws passed by the Congress to court cases. The judiciary also provides a resolution for disputes, and judges whether something is considered constitutional or unconstitutional. The task of ensuring equal justice is often entrusted to the